UFC legend visits Blues training

12 Apr 2017

The veteran mixed martial artist was at Blues training yesterday, where he spoke to the team about overcoming adversity and never giving up in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

“I’ve fallen many times as a fighter, but I keep getting up,” he said to the team. “Now I know you guys are at a point where you’ve fallen, and now you’ve got to get back up and win.”

He read from former US president Theodore Roosevelt’s inspirational “Citizenship in a Republic” speech – specifically the famous “The Man in the Arena” passage about striving for greatness and never giving up.

Then resident UFC PS4 champion Melani Nanai presented him with his own Blues jersey.

Hunt, who was knocked out at a UFC event three weeks ago, is currently preparing for his first fighting appearance in New Zealand in 15 years. He’ll take on US fighter Derrick Lewis in a five-round heavyweight fight at UFC Fight Night at Vector Arena on 11 June.